DC Wins In OT

The quarterback class from the 2024 NFL Draft was already one of the top stories of this season. And it keeps getting better.

Jayden Daniels won on Sunday night, sending the Washington Commanders to the playoffs. And that usually would be enough that he wouldn’t have to share the spotlight. But the other rookie quarterback in the game, Michael Penix Jr. of the Atlanta Falcons, was also fantastic in rallying his team to overtime with a great game-tying drive in regulation.

Daniels’ season will continue into the postseason. The Commanders clinched a playoff berth with the 30-24 overtime win. Washington won the coin toss to start OT and took the first drive into the end zone to end the game before Penix ever had a chance to get a possession. Daniels looked like a veteran in moving his team downfield in a pressure situation. On third-and-goal, Daniels hit Zach Ertz for a 2-yard touchdown for the walk-off win. The win also clinched the NFC West title for the Los Angeles Rams due to tiebreakers.

The Falcons now need help to win the NFC South. Atlanta needs to beat the Carolina Panthers in Week 18 while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to lose to the New Orleans Saints to give the Falcons a division title.

The silver lining for the Falcons in a loss that likely will cost them a shot at the division crown was that they should have a lot of excitement over their quarterback going forward. All five first-round rookie quarterbacks who have started games have had flashes of brilliance, or in Daniels’ case, a historic rookie season. The question for Falcons head coach Raheem Morris in the offseason might be why he didn’t pull the plug on Kirk Cousins and turn to Penix sooner.